Hôm nay chúng ta sẽ cùng gặp “bà mẹ bỉm sữa” Jessica sống tại Tây Bắc Ohio, Hoa Kỳ. Tuy bận rộng chăm sóc cho 6 con nhỏ nhưng cô vẫn tạo ra được một khu vườn sum suê cây trái.

Cô chia sẻ trên Humans Who Grow Food:

“Tôi là chủ trang trại đồng thời là mẹ của 6 đứa nhỏ, đam mê làm vườn giúp nuôi dưỡng gia đình tôi, đồng thời dạy các con tôi những bài học quan trọng trong cuộc sống.

Trước khi làm mẹ, tôi được chẩn đoán mắc bệnh Crohns (là bệnh viêm đường ruột với các triệu chứng đau bụng, tiêu chảy nghiêm trọng, mệt mỏi, giảm cân và suy dinh dưỡng). Tôi không muốn phụ thuộc vào thuốc để chữa bệnh. Chế độ ăn uống không lành mạnh là một trong những nguyên nhân khiến tôi bị mắc bệnh, vì tôi phải rất cẩn trọng trong việc lựa chọn thực phẩm. Một thời gian sau, đứa con đầu lòng của tôi chào đời bị dị ứng thực phẩm phản vệ. Lúc đó, tôi lại càng nhận thức rõ vai trò, tầm quan trọng của thực phẩm đối với sức khỏe mỗi thành viên trong gia đình. Vì vậy, tôi quyết định sẽ làm vườn.

Tôi thích tự trồng thực phẩm cho riêng mình bởi tôi có thể kiểm soát được những gì có trong thực phẩm, đồng thời có thể lựa chọn những thực phẩm tốt nhất cho sức khỏe của mình. Một lý do nữa đó là việc làm vườn giúp các con tôi học được rất nhiều bài học giá trị về sự sáng tạo, việc quản lý khu vườn một cách khoa học thay vì bỏ không nó.

Chúng tôi trồng nhiều loại trái cây, rau củ, nuôi gà và vịt trong vườn. Năm tới chúng tôi sẽ bắt đầu nuôi ong. Ban đầu, khi mới chuyển đến đây, khu vườn của chúng tôi được bao quanh bởi những cánh đồng ngô và đậu nành, chúng được trồng theo cách thông thường. Kết quả những vụ thu hoạch đầu tiên, chúng tôi đã thất bại do đất nghèo nàn, thiếu thụ phấn và thiệt hại sâu bệnh.

Để cải tạo cho khu vườn, chúng tôi bắt đầu nuôi gà để lấy phân chuồng và kiểm soát sâu bệnh. Chúng tôi không thể loại bỏ tất cả các loài gây hại, nhưng chúng tôi đã trồng thêm các loại cây trồng hoặc thiên địch có lợi nhằm hạn chế sự phát triển của chúng. Tạo ra một hệ sinh thái nơi mọi sinh vật đều có lợi là chìa khóa để có một khu vườn thành công.

Trở ngại lớn nhất của chúng tôi luôn là thời gian. Thật khó để có thể quản lý tốt khu vườn khi trong nhà có rất nhiều trẻ nhỏ.

Việc làm vườn được chúng tôi áp dụng như một chương trình giảng dạy cho các con. Tất cả các bài học từ toán đến khoa học… đều có thể áp dụng ngay trên chính khu vườn của gia đình mình.

Phần thưởng lớn nhất đối với gia đình tôi là chúng tôi được hưởng lợi từ khu vườn này. Không chỉ lợi ích vật chất từ ​​thực phẩm bổ dưỡng, mà chúng còn biết được thực phẩm đến từ đâu. Việc cho trẻ trồng và thu hoạch những thành quả lao động do chúng vất vả tạo ra cũng là một trong những bài học vô giá giúp trẻ quý trọng thực phẩm.

Tạo ra những thực phẩm lành mạnh là một phần thưởng tuyệt vời, nhưng việc cho trẻ tham gia vào quá trình làm vườn còn tuyệt hơn gấp bội. Không gì có thể so sánh với việc thấy niềm vui của con bạn khi chúng gieo hạt nảy mầm hoặc chúng có thể thu hoạch trái cây do chính chúng chăm sóc. Cuối cùng, bạn không chỉ làm ra những sản phẩm tốt sức khỏe mà còn giúp gắn kết tình cảm các thành viên trong gia đình. Thật tuyệt vời phải không nào?

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Fall is nearly here and you can really see it in the state of my neglected summer garden. Today my girls and I ripped out the wilted tomato, cucumber, and pepper plants. The zucchini plants are being decimated by squash bugs, so half of them were also removed. Beds are ready to be planted with lettuce and radishes. At this point we are really only harvesting okra, green beans, scallions, and zucchini on a daily basis, but we picked our first radishes from the fall garden today, so Lord willing, we will soon have an abundance of fall crops to enjoy. #gardening #garden #kidsinthegarden #gardenschooling #homeschooling #unschooling #farmschooling #homesteading #homestead #farmher #womenwhofarm #farmlife #homegrown #organic #organicgardening #fresh #eatinseason #farmfresh #growsomething #growyourfood #knowyourfood

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How I wish I could have seen this farm back in the day! Our home was built in 1867 and many generations of people cared for this property. I feel a connection to those old farmers and hope I am doing them proud in my efforts to bring the land back to life. You can tell that someone thoughtfully planned out an orchard a long time ago, and after years of neglect, the fruit trees have been buried in the jungle. We have tried to slowly prune some back and we forage what we can from many of them – the kids' favorite being crabapples. They know that the crabapples make the best jelly due to the natural pectin in the fruit. We are very thankful for the work of those farmers and these old trees that still provide us with enough jelly to get through each year! #crabapples #crabappleharvest #foraging #crabapplejelly #homesteading #homestead #homesteadlife #selfsufficiency #sustainability #selfsufficientliving #sustainableliving #familyfarm #farmlife #countryliving #farmkids #farmher #womenwhofarm #farmschooling #homeschooling #homeschool #unschooling #getoutside #explore #backyardexplorers #homesteadingfamily #homesteadersofig

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Someone recently mentioned the words "child labor" to me and I was so confused. At what point in our culture did children helping around the home and taking an active role in their own care become wrong? We are a culture so far removed from any kind of actual labor, and so consumed with our entertainment and laziness, that it's easy for some to think that a child working harder than most adults do is somehow bad for the child. But perhaps the bar is just a tad too low and we don't give children near enough credit. #theyaresmiling #happykids #healthykids #hardworkingkids #farmkids #hardwork #diligence #everyonesacritic #farmschooling #carharrtkids @carhartt #homeschooling #homeschool #unschooling #homesteading #homestead #familyfarm #workingtogether #teamwork #farmlife #workisfun #familytogether

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Our fall garden is looking beautiful, but this summer garden is a jungle that probably should have been ripped out and put to bed for the year weeks ago, even though she still has tiny gifts to give me. Just when I think something is done producing for the year, I find one more hidden fruit to enjoy fresh. After a season of struggle, I can finally let my toddler run through without worrying about him crushing plants and let him play harvest with shears until his little heart is content. Next week we will pull the annuals, add compost, plant garlic, and mulch before the frost hits, but this week we are enjoying these rainy morning walks and surprises in the jungle. #welcometothejungle #gardening #garden #gardenlife #gardenschool #homesteading #homestead #familyfarm #kidsinthegarden #farmbaby #farmboy #farmlife #growyourfood #knowyourfood

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Day 23: Coffee View ~ I can't drink coffee, but I do love a warm cup of honey-sweetened green tea in the morning. Normally it gets left on the kitchen counter unfinished as I rush around getting everyone else fed and ready for the day, but today I took it with me on my morning chores so I could play along with the #summeronthehomestead photo challenge. I've decided I need to bring my tea with me every morning from now on! The full cup got consumed hot and it forced me to stop and drink in the view. #happymonday #coffeeview #mygarden #gardener #garden #gardening #gardenlife #gardenlove #gardenersofinstagram #homesteading #homestead #homesteadlife #farmher #womenwhofarm #farmlife #momlife #motherhood #todayisthedaytheLordhasmade #weshallrejoiceandbegladinit #GodisGood

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I'm seeing a common theme in most of the modern children's literature that I browse – the theme that family is an annoyance. Little siblings are bothersome pests that are to be avoided at all costs. Older siblings will sacrifice family to worship at the altar of their peers. It matches the themes in most of modern adult entertainment where dad is incompetent and has no control over the children, while mom has total authority and must drink large amounts of wine just to cope after a day home with her annoying children. Add in the sulking, disrespectful teenager and we have the entire modern American portrait of family life. It's not funny. It isn't healthy or remotely normal, no matter how much they try to convince us otherwise. I feel like we can do our children a huge favor by not allowing those messages into our homes. Not in the books we read. Not in the movies we watch. Not in the attitudes we allow to enter our environments. We can filter the evil, anti-family messaging out and create a home that uses family interactions to build character based on patience, respect, and love. #siblings #siblinglove #brothersandsisters #patientsiblings #family #familytogether #familytogetherness #mediadiscernment #discernment #respect #authority #christianfamily #largefamily #largefamilylife #momofmany #momof6 #motherhood #characterdevelopment #siblinghood #homeschooling #homeschool #homeschoollife #homeschooledsiblings #familymatters

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A little bit of California sunshine arrived here in cold Ohio today. ?? This fruit order was the one food purchase I was allowing myself through the pantry challenge because it was ordered in December and this is the only time of year I can get good prices on fresh, bulk citrus. It's always a bright spot in the winter for us to get to enjoy some fresh Vitamin C. . . The lemons will be juiced and then frozen in glass pint jars so we can enjoy homemade lemonade through the rest of the year. The grapefruit and oranges will mostly be eaten fresh and anything we can't eat before it starts to go bad will be water bath canned for later. I'm not preserving marmalade this year because I still have a lot leftover from last year, but we will be preserving peels to use for candy, vinegar infusions, lemon extract, zest, and potpourri. The best part is that I can create all of these items zero waste without any disposable plastic citrus bags going into the trash. . . For those who will wonder where this was ordered, it was grown by the Sam Putt family in California. The local Mennonite and German Baptist communities put together a huge order and they fill a semi truck and deliver it to us here in Ohio. A good friend is generous enough to include me in this order. It is a blessing to us to be able to enjoy quality citrus in Ohio where it isn't grown! . . If you're wondering how to find bulk produce sources in your area just ask around at local farmer's markets, Weston A. Price meetings, homeschool groups, or other places where large homesteading families gather. You never know what opportunities you will find!

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I thought I would introduce myself to all of the new followers. Hi! ? I'm Jessica, a 37-year-old wife and mother to six children. I live in NW Ohio on a small homestead where I homeschool my growing herd of little farmkids. That's me in the picture with my family looking at me like I'm crazy, and that's pretty normal for me – people looking at me like I'm a little nuts. It's why I love this Instagram community though, because it's full of other homesteaders and homeschoolers that understand my particular brand of crazy. ? I'm a sinner, saved by Grace – a work in progress struggling daily to live a life that pleases my Father. If these pictures make you think I have it all together, I promise you that I don't. For all of the beautiful moments captured here each day there are just as many failures. But this is my space to document what I love about this life I am blessed to live – usually the simple, ordinary moments spent working together on the homestead as a family. ? I'm an introvert who could literally never leave my house and be completely happy. Whatever the opposite of wanderlust is, I have. And food is my love language. I enjoy growing it, cooking it, and eating it, so a lot of my feed is centered around that. My goal each year is to live more self-sufficiently and sustainably, and to train my children in those areas too. This life can be a lot of work, but it's definitely rewarding. ? Thank you for following me on this journey. What I love about Instagram is the sense of community and I truly appreciate the encouragement from you guys! ?: @spotless.photography.ohio #tuesdayintroductions #intro #homeschoolmom #homesteadmom #farmmom #homeschooling #homeschool #unschooling #homesteading #homestead #familyfarm #farmschooling #christianfamily #homesteadingfamily #homeschoolingfamily #homesteadersofig #homesteadersofamerica #homesteadersofinstagram #farmher #womenwhofarm

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Nguồn: Humans Who Grow Food
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